


Free To Go

by AzuleOpal



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Adventure, Asexual Eliza, Captivity, Fantasy AU, Gay John Laurens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2020-03-07 17:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18877732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzuleOpal/pseuds/AzuleOpal
Summary: Eliza is a princess, a forgotten princess, found by a prince.It's basically the movie Tangled. But Hamilton. Also, no spoilers about Alex allowed!HEY FANFIC POCKET ARCHIVE LIBRARY: LEAVE MY FICS ALONE. -AzuleOpal





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> What?? AzuleOpal with another story? This time with an actually coherent plot and consistent characterization? And more than one chapter already written?????? Who am I and what have I done to the real AzuleOpal :0
> 
>  
> 
> Jokes aside, lemme know what you think! More to come soon!

Once upon a time, there was a princess named Elizabeth Schuyler. Eliza was the daughter of Philip Schuyler, reigning King Of New York. He ruled his kingdom with eloquence, resourcefulness, and intelligence. He raised his three daughters much the same way. 

The oldest and the wittiest, the princess Angelica, would grow to be viciously loyal, bold, independent and unapologetic to anyone who tried to belittle her. His youngest, Peggy, would one day be a delightful and lively hostess, fearless and humble. 

But Eliza had never been the type to try and grab the spotlight, especially from her sisters. Instead, she stood out as being what her father called "improper". She would dirty her skirts, climb castle walls as easily as she climbed trees, and always begged to accompany her father on un-princessly endeavors like jousting and political conferences. The king would always do his best to hide it until the girl learned to do so herself. Instead, she let her sisters dazzle and glide in their spotless gowns and polite conversation.

On the eve before Eliza's twelfth birthday, the king decided that he had had enough of his daughter's impropriety. He concocted a plan to rid the kingdom of the girl's boyish behavior. He knew it was a cruel plan, but he needed to preserve the honor of his royal name and hide his daughter from the world.

The following morning, the sixth of August, the heavy-hearted but determined king invited his rowdy daughter to join him on a birthday horse ride around the kingdom of New York. Delighted, the young princess agreed, unaware of her father's intentions. She joyfully mounted one of the horses from the king's royal stable and joined her father at the edge of the castle grounds. She followed him in quiet awe as they trotted past trees and meadows, sprinkled with glistening spiderwebs and a few early fallen leaves.

Eventually, the approached a tower. Wordlessly, Philip led his daughter to one side of it. The princess looked up in amazement at the sheer height of the tower. She dismounted her horse and placed a hand on the cool stone of the wall. Just as she turned to face her father to ask him why he brought her here, she was pushed up a flight of narrow stairs, with a warm, calloused hand covering her eyes.

She tripped over her skirts a couple of times but managed to stay upright, with her father supporting her back. 

At the top, her eyes were uncovered and she found herself standing in a relatively well-furnished room. The bed to her left was made of polished wood and draped with silk sheets. A matching wardrobe stood to her right, filled with silky dresses and heavier cotton gowns. An oakwood vanity with beautiful combs on it graced the space between the closet and a fireplace, made of solid stone. But what Eliza was most drawn to was the large round window directly ahead of her, where she could see a patch of blue sky and a bit of emerald green from the lush forest and meadows below.

Eliza heard a resonating boom. Her head whipped around at the sound. She was alone in the room. 

"Father?" The twelve-year-old princess called out, alarmed. She was met with only her faint echo, bouncing off the stone walls.

"Father!" She called again. Her eyes flitted around the room, seeking an escape. "Where have you gone? What is this? Why am I here?

When again there was no reply, Eliza's eyes began to prick with tears. Then she heard her father's faint voice.

"Come to the window, darling!" He called.

Eliza obeyed and saw her father there, seated atop his proud horse, with hers following behind. 

"You shall learn to be a proper lady here, with no improper temptations to bother you. On the morn of your eighteenth birthday, I shall come to fetch you with a prince I will have chosen for you to marry," explained Philip, voice slightly warped by the glass between him and his daughter, who disappeared from view, collapsing onto her knees behind the window. He could just barely hear her softly whimpering. "There is food and water in the cellar beneath your feet and ladylike entertainment in the drawers of the wardrobe. Now, farewell, daughter. I expect a perfect lady to greet me upon my return."

With that, the king turned his horses and rode away, leaving behind his daughter to survive on her own.


	2. Chapter 1 - Then You Walked In And My Heart Went Boom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! I wanted to post a lil something and suddenly got the motivation to update this fic so here we are! Let's pretend I actually posted this on V day though!

"Good morning, Alexander. Today is the day! We must begin our preparations!" Eliza says, nudging the warm body in the bed beside her. She feels his reluctant grumbles vibrate through her body and she laughs, sliding out of bed and pulling open the gauzy curtain. The sun spills in, warm and welcome on the face of the young princess.

"Come on, 'Lexi, I need your help today," She chirps. When Alexander only grunts out as a response, Eliza moves to her washbasin and rinses her face, scrubbing gently. She splashes her companion with little droplets of water. They catch the sunlight and sparkle before landing on Alexander, who bristles under the attack and gives aa irritated growl.

Eliza chuckles from deep in her chest. It's an unladylike, authentic sound that sends rumbles through her whole body. She dries her face with a soft cloth that she had knit herself, by hand. She admires the tiny uniform stitches of the baby blue that Eliza had favoured since she was very young, when she still lived in that wretched castle with the man who called himself her father.

Eliza shrugs to herself. She is happier here, alone in the forest save for Alexander. Her tower is her safe haven, with no restrictions or rules. She sings, dances, dresses, passes gas and even swears, and nobody is there to criticize her. Though she does apologize to Alexander after engaging in the last two activities.

The girl lays the cloth on the window to dry. Then she shuffles to her closet and picks out a simple blue dress, made of airy cotton with laze on the sleeves and around the waist. She hesitates on a corset. She brushes her fingers against the firm wires, twirling the strings idly. Wearing it while preparing would be impractical. 

"But it makes me feel more proper... Ah, then no," She decides and puts the bust back in the closet. Instead, she ties the silk string in the back of the dress, a darker contrast to the powder blue of her dress. She braids her hair and ties it with a matching silk ribbon.

With a quick satisfied look in the mirror, Eliza feels energized. She turns once more to her bed, where Alexander is now sitting. He watches her, head cocked to the side, then jumps off the bed scampers towards Eliza, who picks him up and kisses his face.

"Alright, first things first," Eliza says. She looks around the room, picks up a broom she had made with wood Alexander had brought her and an old nightgown, tied with a ribbon, and begins sweeping. As she does, she hums to herself, a small tune that her older sister Angelica had taught her when she was young. How she misses her...

There isn't much to sweep, as Eliza does so every day. When she finishes, she moves on to dust the bookshelves, turning the air into a pillar of golden specks that dance to her lilting tune.

Despite everything her father had done to bore her into complacency, Eliza has found many stimulating activities for herself over the years. She has built a life for herself here, up in this tower, in the middle of a forest.

A happy life. 

"Alexander, darling, could you fetch me some tree bark, please?" Asks the princess, turning to her darling companion.

The small creature gives an affirming chirrup and disappears through the window.

As she cleans, Eliza ponders. She knows her father will be returning in three days, expecting a proper lady. She will be eighteen, of marriageable age.

But Eliza has another plan.

For the next three days, Eliza will be preparing to mysteriously disappear off the face of the Earth, without a trace.

She is pulled from her plans by long strips of tree bark which clatter at her feet. Alexander has returned.

"Thank you, dear," She says, wiping her brow with the sleeve of her dress and petting Alexander's warm head. "Now, we shall make some good hardy shoes for me and maybe a hat for you too."

Alexander grunts and goes to find a spot to lie in the sun. Meanwhile, Eliza sits down at her vanity with the bark and a rabbit's bone clip. She begins to piece together a pair of shoes to ease her escape. Cloth and silk slippers, like the ones her father had left for her, would never serve Eliza as she needed. So she sits and sews bark to a piece of heavy cloth from an old coat. 

When she stands to seek a ribbon to use as laces, Eliza notices that Alexander is leaning out the window, peering down to the forest below.

Curious, Eliza strides across the room and kneels on the little wooden window seat she had made, from extra pieces of furniture and branches brought by Alexander months ago.

The latter has his eyes glued to...

A man.

Eliza gasps quietly, her body tensing. Who is this man? How had he found her? Why is he here? Was he sent by her father? Questions swirl through the girl's head as she watches the man below carefully lead his horse around bramble bushes at the foot of the tower.

"He must be looking for a way up," Eliza whispers, realization creeping up on her.

A thought hits her. Should she hide, pretend not to exist, as she had for all these years? No, she should meet him, confront him. But he might hurt her. What if he helps her? What if he doesn't?

She doesn't have enough time to answer herself. She hears footsteps approaching.

Her heart drops to her stomach. He's here. He's found an entrance and is about to find Eliza. That means there's an entrance. An exit. 

An exit! There is a way out.

Eliza reels from all these realizations and just barely manages to turn around without falling over, defenceless, as the man walks out from behind a panel in the brick wall.

They freeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of curiosity, have any of you, readers read my other pseud's fic, When All Seemed Dark, You Were My Light? Under BismuthAndFullOfGold?  
> It's a different fandom, with another poor John who deserves the world and has an ass of a dad, and a not-straight best friend/borderline boyfriend who is short and ambitious.
> 
>  
> 
> Comments, kudos and sharing are always appreciated! If you share this or any of my other fics, please credit me!


	3. Headed For A New Land

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo!! Another chapter for y'all!
> 
> Also I recently learned there is an app called "Fanfic Pocket Archive Library", which takes fics from AO3 and makes them public through a service that they profit from, and the actual writers of the fics get no credit. This is stealing others' works and making money off of it. Though I have not found any proof that this is illegal, it is certainly unethical. Any fic that is accessible without a password is on that app right now. AO3 is a non-profit organization that archives derivatives works, which are protected by US law (as far as I can tell, please correct me if I'm wrong) and this Pocket Archive is profiting off of a non-profit organization. Please report/flag that app and spread this so that no creator goes uncredited. It looks like it has already been taken down from Google Play, but it is still accessible with apple.
> 
> Here is the [link](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fanfic-pocket-archive-library/id1047221122) to the Apple Store.
> 
> As a result, I will be putting all my fics on Private until further notice. I apologize for the inconvenience. If it bothers you, do something about it! Please. And thank you.  
> Please report it!

The two strangers stare at eachother for a long moment. Then, Eliza breaks the silence.

"Who are you and how did you find me?" She asks, brandishing her sewing needle like a sword, pointing it at the man's face.

The man is heavily freckled, Eliza notices. They make his wide eyes all the more pale and unsettling. 

He opens his mouth, closes it, clears his throat. Shakes his head, light hair twirling around his shoulders, and finally finds his voice.

"You...live here?"

Eliza is taken aback. She has forgotten what a man's voice sounds like. But what surprises her most is the unexpected reply. The grip on her needle loosens slightly.

"Yes...I do. Why?"

The man shakes his head disbelievingly. "How long have you been here? How are you still alive? This place is in the middle of nowhe- wow did you make all this?"

The man's eyes had shifted all over the room, to the window seat, the broom, and the half-finished shoes on her vanity.

She smiles proudly. "As a matter of fact, yes I have. Most of it, anways. I have a companion who helps me."

"Oh. Uh, I am John Laurens, by the way. I am running away from home and happened to stumble upon yours," Explains the man.

"You too?" Eliza asks.

John nods slowly. "My father, he wants me to marry some princess so I'll be eleigible for the throne when he passes."

A runaway prince, then. Eliza assumes she should have guessed from his expensive looking, although somewhat muddy attire.

"Your father sounds an awful lot like mine. He wanted me to be a 'proper lady' and believed sending me to live in a tower in the middle of the woods for six years would help," Eliza finds herself revealing.

John splutters and gasps. "Six years!? You've been locked away for six years!?"

Eliza nods gravely. "Since I was twelve. It will be exactly six years in three days. Which is when my father intends to return and marry me off, should I be 'proper'. But I am not proper. I fear that when he sees that, he will keep me locked here for much longer and my heart simply cannot take that. So I must escape."

John looks at her, speechless. Then, "So... you said you have a companoin, but I didn't see..."

"Oh yes. Alexander is just over there in that corner," Eliza says, pointing to where Alexander is watching John from a dark corner.

John follows Eliza's finger to see a small head peeking out from the shadows.

He yelps. "That's... that's a dragon!"

Eliza frowns. "Alexander? Why yes, I suppose. But he's a little one."

"A dragon! You have a dragon! A small, furry, breating dragon! Does that not strike you as insane?!" John's eyes are wide and disbelieving; almost comically so.

Eliza cracks a grin. "Everything about me strikes me as insane, dear prince."

Alexander stands, stretches, and sidles up to John and sniffs his boot. John watches with still and silent fascinatio, barely moving but for his eyes as the little dragon stalks around him in cautious, curious circles.

"I had no idea dragons were real," John whispers. "I thought they were just creatures of tall tales and fever dreams. They've fascinated me since I was very young, but I never dreamed of seeing one with my own two eyes!"

"Well, here you are, with my dragon nibbling at your coat," Eliza chuckles.

John looks up at Eliza and grins. "I think this is the happiest I've ever been."

Alexander purrs at John's feet, making Eliza laugh. 

"I think he likes you. I've never seen him act this affectionate, even to me," She notes, crossing her arms. She smiles at the sight of them.

John reaches a cautious hand to Alexander, who, after a moment, presses his snout to the man's palm. John looks utterly starstruck.

Eliza gasps with a sudden realization. John looks up at the movement.

"Miss?" He asks.

Eliza's eyes sear into his. "You say you've come from a kingdom? Your father sent you to find a bride?"

John nods slowly. "My father... he thinks the throne is no place for... a prince who... desires... another... prince..."

Eliza pauses. "A prince... who desires another prince?"

John's eyes widen and he takes a step back. "I apologize, I've said too much, I should go-"

"No, wait!" Eliza shouts, reaching to John's already turned back, which tenses at her voice. "Don't go. I am not alarmed. Simply curious. I have never met anyone like you. I will not shun you, for you have never hurt me. I know that hate and alienation only lead to pain and suffering. I know that. I live that. I still do. But maybe, now that you've found me... maybe we can put a stop to that."

John's eyes narrow slightly, weighing her words. Then his shoulders release some of the tension there. "You are a good soul, my lady."

"I am naught but decent and honest, dear prince," Eliza replies, shaking her head.

The prince nods, eyes drifting towards Alexander, to Eliza's deer bone flute, the sharpened stone knife on the vanity, then back to the girl.

"Would you be willing to come help me confront our fathers?" John asks at the same time as Eliza asks the same thing.

Eliza laughs and John huffs amusedly. Alexander just cocks his head to the side.

"I feared you would refuse to leave this haven you've built for yourself here, but you seem to eager to leave," John says.

Eliza nods. "That I am. It is decided, then. We shall be off to confront our fathers! But first, I must gather a few essentials."

She turns once on the spot, evaluating. Her eyes pass over her brushes, clothes, the flute, her sewing kit, the stone knife, the warm blanket upon her bed of silk. She decides first to pull out a bag made of an old skirt and covered in a layer of fur and scales.

"The bag is waterproof and hardy, see, because of the scales Alexander had shed some months ago. I've sewn them on as protection. Marvellously useful." Eliza explains, to John's surprise.

He watches as Eliza drops a single large comb, a small mirror, a couple of light dresses, some socks, her sewing set, a light, soft blanket, some nuts, berries and dried meat, a water flask and a tiny vial of perfume. She pulls out a dragonpelt coat from her closet and folds it on top of the bag. She pulls her luggage to the center of the room, where John stands, amazed.

"That is wildly impressive," He says, nodding appreciatively at the bag.

Eliza grins. "Thank you."

"It looks a bit heavy though."

"I can manage."

"I have a horse. She can carry it. If we're doing this, we're doing this as a team," John says.

Eliza smiles, a warmth spreading in her chest at John's words. They are a team. "Alright. Thank you."

She looks around the tower, the place she had called home for six long years. When she turns back to John, her eyes shine.

"And so, our adventure begins. Come, Alexander. We must venture into the unknown. Say adieu to the world you lived in, for you may never see it again."

John cannot tell if she's saying this to the dragon or to herself.

He picks up Eliza's bag and heaves it carefully over his shoulder. "Are you ready, miss?"

Eliza looks back one more time.

"I never got your name, miss," John says, about to turn to the exit.

Eliza steps into the ray of the shifted sun, framing her pale face in a halo as she turns to him and grins.

"My name is Elizabeth Schuyler, Princess of New York."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, please report the Pocket Archive! They are making money off of the work of others and myself. I, for one, am not okay with that.
> 
>  
> 
> Here is an image of Alexander. Except imagine it's historical Hamilton hair an eye colour.
> 
> Credit to the original artist kimrhodes
> 
>  
> 
> [ Alexander ](https://www.deviantart.com/kimrhodes/art/WIP-large-posable-dragon-483845436)


End file.
